Virgen de Urkupiña - Quillacollo, Bolivia

An amazing Carnaval-esque pilgrimage full of colorful costumes, music and dancing that brings folks from all over.

The Death Road

"El mas barrato, por favor." The cheapest one, please. After I said it, I realized my response to which level of bike I wanted for our trip down "The World's Most Dangerous Road" probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever said. Oh well, what's the worst that could happen on the road also known as "The Death Road"?

This road, so named for the 100 or so folks that fall to their deaths here annually, has become famous among visitors to Bolivia and one of the "must-dos" on a visit to La Paz. Nobody died in our group (three backpackers have ended their trips here this year), but it was easy to see how this road has become so (in)famous. It was absolutely nuts (and a complete blast) in many places.

(Many of these photos need a closer look to get the full effect - ie.- the shot of the van driving above the area where two other trucks/buses have slid down the mountain)

La Colonia - A truly amazing place

Thirty kids. All the time. Another 100 during the day. This is the life that Kiko & Carmen have chosen. Thirteen years ago, this incredible couple began what is now way more than a full time job. The children are either abandoned or had such a dire circumstances at home that they have come to La Colonia for a better life. Food, a bed, focus on schoolwork, love. All of this and more is what these kids receive here. This is not an institution, it is a home. And for Kiko and Carmen, it is not a job, it is their family.




I`ve been lucky enough to spend the last month here helping out in any way I can. Mostly I`ve been playing with the kids or helping with their homework, but have also helped build a climbing wall, marched with them in an independence day parade and helped make dinner for 40 people. Without question, working at La Colonia has been a highlight of my trip to South America and something I will never forget.

(Post Script - Leaving the Colonia on Friday was also the hardest thing I`ve done on this trip. Its a tradition when any volunteer leaves for everyone to gather around and some of the kids offer to say a few words of thanks and give us cards they have made. One of the older girls started to talk but had to stop because she started crying. It would have been hard enough for me to say goodbye to my new friends in English, but trying it in a new language with a lump in my throat was nearly impossible.)

19,974 feet...Mt. Huayna Potosi kicked my....

One of the popular hikes to do here in Bolivia is the 6000+ meter Huayna Potosi. It´s extremely popular because of its accessibility - it is rare to find a peak this high, higher than any peak in Europe in fact, that can be scaled within a couple of days. Though the climb requires crampons, ice axes and ropes, it is not super technical. Despite it´s relative accessibility, however, the peak is at almost 20,000 feet which can make things very difficult....

It seemed that most people chose the 3 day tour which basically allows a little more time for acclimatization. When dealing with high altitudes your biggest friend is time - and taking lots of it to acclimatize. The more time you take working your way up a mountain, the better chance you have of escaping altitude sickness. Alternatively, you can convince yourself that you have been there before (Kilimanjaro), live at altitude (Cochabamba is at 2500 m) and have been at a decent altitude (La Paz = 3800 m) for a few days, in order to save the time and money of that 3rd day. Foolishly, as it would turn out, I chose this two day tour and paid heavily.

The first day was great - the weather was beautiful, I felt strong and the scenery was nothing short of spectacular. After some confusion of where we would sleep (all the refugios were full and we didn`t have a reservation for some reason), we were fed and given about 24 inches of padded floor to ¨sleep¨ on. As it turns out, this would be a place to rest my eyes for a few hours instead of actually sleeping. The combination of cramped quarters, a little anxiety and the extreme difficulty of sleeping at 5000+ m prevented even a minutes sleep before the 1am ¨wake-up¨ call. I was happy to be able to get up and finally get out there and climb. Because we were not officially supposed to be in the refugio, we had had the pleasure of having our bread and tea outside in the cold. Brrr. Due to the ease of the previous day`s hike, I was excited for a difficult but rewarding day up to the summit. Ha! After the chilly breakfast, we (my guide and I) put our crampons on, roped ourselves together and started up the mountain after the other 40 or so climbers. While we quickly passed most of them, I think this pace, at this altitude, eventually proved a costly mistake. About midway up one ridge (which was probably the scariest 30 minutes of my life), I started to feel nauseous and extremely lethargic. I was finally able to sit down for a brief `pausa´after making it up the ridge (steeper than any double black I`ve ever skied) where we were at the most 2-3 feet from a 200+ foot drop. Though the guide spoke almost no English, I think he could sense my apprehension when he said ¨trust the crampons¨. From that point on, it was a march of 5 meters followed by a small rest for the final few hundred meters to the top. It was possibly the worst I`ve ever felt in my life. Upon reaching the summit (which I had thought impossible for the past couple hours), I did not even have the energy to smile never mind high-fiving and getting up to take pictures. The descent was a bit easier, though the lethargy and throbbing headache did not disappear until well after I reached the bottom. The entire hike I kept thinking ´this can´t be, I´m normally stronger than this´. Ahh, the beauty of altitude. The good news is that I decided, during this hike, that I truly have no desire to ever try Everest. Like the "never going to run another marathon" proclamation sworn so many times around mile 20, however, I reserve the right to change my mind on this one .